


How They Fell

by Anonymonimus



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Anarchy, Anger, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Big Brother Sans, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Career Change, Chaos, Comfort Sex, Crying, Danger, Dark, Death, Depressed Sans, Dom Papyrus, Dystopia, Ecto-Genitalia (Undertale), Ecto-Penis (Undertale), Ecto-Tongue (Undertale), Ecto-Vagina (Undertale), Ectobiological Incest, Ectobiology, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, End of the World, Eventual Smut, Evolution, Fights, Fist Fights, Fontcest, Gang Violence, Heavy Angst, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Innocent Papyrus, Its all downhill from here folks, Kill or be killed, Killing, Knives, Lust, M/M, Madness, Major Character Injury, Mild Smut, Murder, Murderers, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Happy, PapySans, Papyrus Has Issues, Papyrus Needs A Hug, People Change People, Plot, Plotty, Possessive Sans, Possibly Unrequited Love, Protective Papyrus, Protective Sans, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Sad, Sad Papyrus, Sans Needs A Hug, Scars, Shameless Smut, Short, Skeleton Sex (Undertale), Skeletons, Smut, Sub Sans, The Tags Will Make Sense by the End, The world is Fucked Up, Threats of Violence, Underfell Grillby, Underfell Papyrus, Underfell Sans, Unrequited, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, Violence, Wounds, episodic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-01-23 08:56:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12503700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymonimus/pseuds/Anonymonimus
Summary: It all started because Asgore killed someone and ran from his problems. Sans is just trying to cope with what the world is becoming and keep Papyrus safe.





	1. Papyrus

It all started the day Asgore killed someone. No one knew why or what exactly had made him snapped. Apparently, he was confronted by a monster annoyed with the lack of progress in bringing down the barrier, but that was par for the course for the King. He was usually met with, at the very least, seven monsters per day with that same concern and, every time, he responded as patiently and as kindly as he could. Except for that day. Only a few other people were present when it happened. As the story goes, the monster hadn't said anything out of the ordinary; they spewed the usual spiel – some were fairly certain that particular monster regularly returned every week to give the King a piece of his mind. Asgore had listened to him calmly. He hadn't seemed upset or generally out of the ordinary; in fact, he had seemed very attentive, nodding his head every so often to indicate he was paying acute attention. But then, somewhere near the end of the rant, he lunged out of his throne and impaled the monster on his trident unprovoked.

That day was likely the beginning of the end.

Since then, Asgore had locked himself away in his castle, refusing an audience with anyone. As a result, the population grew frustrated and tense. Crime rates steadily increased to a point where the Royal Guard struggled to maintain order. Undyne was desperate for more soldiers. It was likely due to that that Papyrus was finally permitted to join as a trainee. He was given his armour, black like obsidian save for the royal sigil, and told to keep it clean and neat. Sans had first laid eyes on it when his brother had returned home. He had found him polishing his breastplate in their living room with an overjoyed grin on his face. He had seemed too excited about having finally been accepted into the Royal Guard to take in his new set of responsibilities and reflect upon the troubling state of their society. And while Sans had noticed how things were becoming unstable, he couldn't bring himself to say so. He preferred to leave his brother on cloud nine rather than yank him back into reality. Perhaps that was his first mistake.

"Ah! Brother!" Papyrus beamed, lifting his head in his direction. He then gestured his armour proudly. "Look what I have and definitely didn't steal…again!"

Sans smirked and rolled his eyes as he made his way downstairs. "Yeah, congratulations." He said and knelt next to him. He ran his fingers over the black breastplate. There wasn't even the slightest dent or scratch; Sans hoped it would always remain that way. "Guess it's time to retire the battle body, hun?"

Papyrus nodded and sighed regretfully. "I suppose so." He paused, "But it is for the better. I no longer have to pretend I'm a member of the Royal Guard."

"Very true." Sans conceded and placed a firm hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, bro. You worked so hard and look where it's gotten you."

Papyrus smiled widely. Sans couldn't remember ever seeing him so happy. "Thank you!"

The smaller skeleton sat back, scooting until he was leaning against their sofa. "Why don't you put it on?" He suggested, "I want to see what captain Papyrus looks like."

"I'm not a captain… _yet_!" Papyrus laughed as he jumped on his feet and gathered his armour. "Currently, I'm  _private_  Papyrus."

"Private-schmivate, put your armour on." Sans teased.

"Alright! Geez!" Papyrus grumbled in mock offense as he stalked off to his bedroom.

Sans watched him climb the stairs and disappear behind his door. Only when he was out of sight did he allow his smile to fall. He pushed himself onto the sofa and sat with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. The state of the Underground was less than peaceful. People were riled up and angry; they lashed out at one another over the smallest things. Just yesterday, Grillby had to intervene when two of his regulars got into a violent altercation. Fortunately, Dogamy and Dogaressa were nearby and took matters into their own hands in the name of the Crown. However, while Grillby left unscathed, the same couldn't be said for Dogamy who received a nasty gash across the face. The idea that Papyrus would likely wind up at some point or another in Dogamy's position was absolutely terrifying. His brother was strong and had hp to spare, but the thought was hardly comforting in regards to the deteriorating state of their society. Currently, they were only fighting, but how long until someone took it too far? How long until someone killed?

The skeleton took a deep breath and tried to relax. He was getting ahead of himself. Monsters were fundamentally good. Odds were everyone would calm down and things would eventually return to the way they were. There was no reason to believe the situation would further escalate. And yet Sans struggled to ignore the pit in his stomach; the horrible feeling that crawled over his back and sent ice cold shivers down his spine.

"Ta-da!" Papyrus shouted as he burst out of his room, startling Sans out of his thoughts. He stood arms and legs akimbo at the top of the stairs, showing off his armour with a pompous grin.

Sans forced a smile back on his face. "Whoa! Who's this!?" He then stood and made a salute as Papyrus descended. "Pardon me,  _captain_ , I didn't know my brother invited you over! May I say you look quite dashing, sir?"

Papyrus laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't be a dork!" He scolded in good humour.

Sans then exaggeratedly gawked at the other; "Papyrus!? Is it really you?" He gasped overdramatically. "I hardly recognised you!"

"You're embarrassing." Papyrus chuckled and stopped in front of the smaller skeleton.

Sans looked him over carefully. The armour suited him remarkably well; no part of it looked too tight or too loose – as though Undyne had it made a while back in anticipation of the day Papyrus would finally qualify to join the Royal Guard. The thought filled him with unease, but he suppressed it. His brother was happy and he wasn't about to ruin what was likely the best day of his life.

"I reckon you're breaching the dress code with this." Sans pointed out and grabbed the torn end of the scarf. He moved it slightly to reveal the royal sigil, but he quickly found he couldn't bear to look at it and released his hold on the orange fabric to cover it again.

"I know…" Papyrus pouted. "But I didn't feel right without it. If I beg Undyne, I think she'll forgive it."

The grin on Sans's face became a little more genuine upon hearing that. He was touched that Papyrus still cared so much for the ugly scarf he had made for him over three decades ago. "Your begging  _has_  gotten you pretty far." He conceded. "If anyone's going to convince her, it's going to be you."

"I am the master convincer!" Papyrus declared, raising both fists in the air.

Sans laughed along and threw himself back on the sofa. Papyrus joined him and began chatting excitedly about what the future now held for him. Sans listened as best as he could, but the growing pit in his stomach kept nagging at him. He was afraid. All he wanted was for his brother to remain safe. Hopefully, everyone would calm down soon.


	2. Violence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I…I didn't even know his name…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **So this story is a thing.**
> 
> **A thing I've been working on and off these past few months. I actually really enjoy what I'm writing but sometimes I feel like I need motivation. I want to finish writing this story, I think it's a great idea that I want to share with people, but there's only so much I can do to motivate myself.**
> 
> **So by all means, if you like this story, please leave me a comment. It'll help me motivate me to go on. I think a lot of people will enjoy what I've brought to the table, but the only way to really know is by putting it to the test.**
> 
> **ENJOY!**

Sans hadn't quite been able to relax ever since Papyrus had been admitted into the Royal Guard. The closest he had gotten to that was during the subsequent two weeks wherein his brother was simply being trained on procedures and things of the like. However, the introductory fortnight was over and today had been his brother's first day patrolling the Underground. Monsters were behaving just as violently as they had before. While the violence hadn't yet escalated, Sans still hopelessly worried over the safety of his brother. The only comfort the smaller skeleton had managed to find was in the knowledge that he was with Undyne and that if anything happened, she would protect him.

He never could have anticipated the way Papyrus would react to the new reality of their world once confronted with it.

When Sans returned home from Grillby's, he found his brother sitting despondently on their couch. He stared absently at the black TV and didn't even spare him a glance likely because he hadn't noticed him. Worried, the first thing Sans looked for were for any scratches or dents in his brother's black armour. Fortunately, it seemed to be as pristine as the day it was initially given to him, though something was still clearly wrong. Why else would the taller skeleton be blankly staring at nothing? He thus shifted closer and carefully placed a hand over his forearm. Papyrus was startled out his thoughts, flailing wildly out of Sans's reach with a near panicked look on his face until he met his gaze.

"S-S…Sans?" He asked breathlessly.

Sans recoiled his extended hand, bawling it into a fist to keep his tremble from showing. "Hey, Pap." He said softly and with a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Papyrus stared at him silently for an additional moment. He was never quite good at hiding his emotions and so it was easy to see how much he had been rattled by his day. His eyes held such trouble and torment while his frown suggested confusion. He had likely been trying to make sense of whatever had happened until he had been interrupted. Sans just wanted to pull him into a hug but refrained from doing so. Papyrus, as he frequently reminded him, wasn't a child and hated to be treated as such. Instead, he waited and offered both patience and understanding.

"H…How was your day?" Sans asked when the silence didn't seem to be ending any time soon.

And though he had spoken as softly as he could, his question almost seemed to slap Papyrus. Suddenly, his eyes watered and the dam he had unconsciously constructed to contain his distress collapsed. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks and though Sans knew he shouldn't have, he still pulled his brother into a tight, comforting hug. Papyrus buried his face in his shoulder and clutched at him desperately as he sobbed heavily. He wheezed and trembled; giving into his torment and allowing it to leave his body in a very ungraceful and pitiable manner. Sans had to steel himself to keep from crying with his brother. He hated to see reality break him.

Papyrus cried for as long as he needed to, Sans didn't push him to stop. Slowly but surely, the taller skeleton collected himself and wiped the remaining tears from his face. He still looked broken and troubled, but before Sans could ask about it, his brother frowned and glanced away – manifesting self-anger. "I…I'm sorry." He whispered, his voice choked. "I shouldn't have done that, I'm a Royal Guard now—"

"Hey…" Sans interrupted softly and reached to cup his cheek. He gently guided his gaze back to his as he added: "You're not on duty; you're at home. Here, you're just Papyrus and you get to cry as much as you want, okay?" Papyrus seemed like he was about to cry again, but he held it in as he nodded. Sans smiled lightly. "Good. Now, do you want to talk about what happened?"

Papyrus went vacant. He was visibly remembering what had put him in such a state and Sans wasn't quite sure he was ready to discuss it. "I…I don't understand…" He choked out. Rather than push for details, the smaller skeleton allowed the other to speak at his own pace. "We…Undyne and I, we were patrolling and everything was fine. We were in Waterfall and we had crossed paths with other Monsters. Some of them had glared at us, but we ignored them and it was fine, everything was fine but…" Papyrus stopped and swallowed the knot in his throat. "One of them…I didn't even know his name…he was so angry. He shouted at us and Undyne shouted back. She told him to stop being mean and move along but…he didn't. He was so angry…angry at me…" Papyrus suddenly seemed perplexed as he trailed off: "I…I didn't even know his name…"

"Did…did he hurt you?" Sans asked, desperately trying to remain calm.

Papyrus shook his head in response. "He tried, but Undyne…stopped him…" He paused for a moment. "She beat him. A crowd started to form. She told me to go home. They were all glaring at me…they were all angry…" He began to tremble again. "I…I didn't even know them…"

Sans reached for his brother and pulled him into a second embrace. He rubbed soothing circles into his back – ones he wasn't entirely sure he could feel through his armour – as he gently rocked him back and forth. "It's over. You're okay. You're safe." Sans whispered. "I've got you…"

"I don't understand." Papyrus whispered. "Monsters…Monsters are good. Why is this happening?"

"I don't know." Sans admitted.

"Is it because Asgore killed someone?" Papyrus asked.

Sans tensed. "I…I don't know." He lied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Remember when I said Unorthodox Folk would be my last Undertale thing?**
> 
> **I A M A L I A R**
> 
> **With that said this is definitely going to be my last story for a long time so I hoep I go out with a bang.**


	3. Exhaustion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know how everyone's been these past few weeks, someone's bound to start a fight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The title of this chapter speaks as much about my current state as it does Sans's within the context of the story.**
> 
> **For those of you actively waiting for the next chapters to come out, I'm so sorry it took this long. I can't even convey how busy I am with Uni shit. Actually, I can, but a part of me doubts anyone really gives a shit haha I've also complained about it enough to my irl friends so there's no need to repeat myself. I have vented every frustration I have.**
> 
> **With that said, at least you know what the delays are about :P**
> 
> **I've actually got everything up to chapter 9 (if I remember correctly) written and ready to go with probably some minor adjustments needed. The initial goal with this thing was to write every chapter before posting daily but Uni's being a little bitch and won't allow me that simple desire.**
> 
> **Gah! I said no venting and here I go!**
> 
> **Anyways, before I get carried away, ENJOY!**

Much to his displeasure, Papyrus continued training with Undyne to take his rightfully earned place in the Royal Guard. Sans had hoped that his brother would have seen the danger presented to him and wisely abandon his dream. No good would come from pursuing a position associated with Asgore, at least not currently. The more the King continued to avoid his people and hide from his murder, the more public outrage was directed towards the Royal Guard who were forced to respond with violence. Said violence, even in the name of self-preservation and protection, only bred more anger and, inevitably, further violence. Sans should have known that his brother would have only been emboldened as opposed to dissuaded. Papyrus was virtuous to a fault and Sans was afraid it would lead to disaster. Where he now had a protector in the form of Undyne, he would soon be expected to hold his own and maintain the peace even at the cost of harming someone. The question was whether Papyrus would be able to willfully hurt someone in order to both protect himself and others.

Sans sighed heavily as he seated himself at Grillby's bar. The place was unnaturally full, so much so he struggled to find the regulars he had become familiar with in a sea of new faces. All of their expressions were disheartening and the small skeleton couldn't bear to look at them for too long. The despair, the anger, the fear…it was all too exhausting. He couldn't run from it at home lest he was alone and, so it seemed, Grillby's wasn't an exception anymore. However, the benefit to the latter location was the endless amount of alcohol his friend would readily serve him. While not healthy in every sense of the word, this would allow for Sans to forget how his world was slowly falling apart. He was in desperate need of a break.

"Give me the strongest thing you've got." Sans breathed when the flame monster in question finally had the chance to approach him.

Grillby was usually a very relaxed individual and a man of little words. He spoke only when it was necessary or to make a witty dad joke. Despite his reserved nature, he was still a very warm and inviting individual; he always went out of his way to make his customers feel good and included. No one ever left his bar feeling dissatisfied or upset and he took pride in that. In this instance, however, his friend seemed tense. A deep frown was etched onto his features– as though he were troubled or bothered by the incredible crowd that had flooded his bar. Sans caught him glancing the horde briefly and could have sworn his frown deepened further.

"Pretty busy…" Sans remarked awkwardly.

"There's too many." Grillby hissed lowly. "You know how everyone's been these past few weeks, someone's bound to start a fight."

Sans looked back and grimaced at the sight. "Yeah…" He agreed, observing the tense customers. Some of them were darting their eyes around, daring someone to do anything that was remotely out of line or a pretext for an outburst. "I reckon if one starts you'll have a mosh pit on your hands."

"I don't care about that." Grillby stated uncharacteristically harshly. Sans looked at him wide eyed, but the flame monster didn't seem fazed. He was just as angry as the lot he was serving. "What if they break a table? Or a window? Am  _I_  supposed to pay for  _their_  damages?"

"I'm sure they'll do it…" Sans mumbled tensely.

"I shouldn't have let as many of them in." Grillby grumbled. "I'm just asking for something bad to happen."

"Looks like you're in need of a drink as much as I am." Sans chuckled half-heartedly.

"Your drink! Right!" Grillby exclaimed, having finally remembered the skeleton's earlier request.

He reached beneath the bar and pulled out a mason jar filled with a clear liquid. Sans couldn't resist the smile that tugged at his face at the sight of it. Grillby only ever rarely handed him his 'special' stuff – human liquor that had found its way into the Underground. He supposed today was a good day to drink something very worthwhile. He reached for two shot glasses that hung on the overhead cupboards and filled them to the brim. They each took one, clanked them gently together and swallowed whole. Sans was surprised to find the liquid was incredibly smooth. It wasn't like vodka that burned the moment it filled his mouth. Instead, there was a very subtle spark as it travelled down his throat that one could easily miss. He had never had anything quite like it.

"Tequila." Grillby answered before Sans could ask. He filled the shot glasses again. "Virtually tasteless, but smooth and  _very_  strong."

"Don't know about strong." Sans chuckled and downed his second portion. "I feel fine."

"Say that again when you try to walk after your third." Grillby smirked and seemed to loosen up. He drank his shot and poured them a third round.

"You sure you should be drinking this much on the job?" Sans asked. His head was starting to tingle a bit, but that was the farthest extent of the alcohol's effect.

"Trust me when I say I deserve it." Grillby replied.

And with that they drank their third round. At that point, Sans had to admit he was beginning to feel a bit of a considerable burn. He didn't know how long he would last at the rate they were going and on an empty stomach no less, but he never got the chance to find out. Just as Grillby was getting ready to pour them fourths, the fight he had been anticipating finally broke out. Two customers at the other end of the bar started yelling at one another incoherently. The chatter that had filled the area suddenly halted as all eyes were turned on the angry pair.

"Fuck me…" Grillby groaned.

The flame monster quickly circled his bar to break up the fight. Sans watched him from where he sat, tilting about to see the scene develop between the narrow gaps of heads and horns. The bigger monster had the smaller one by the collar of his shirt, shoving his face inches from the other's. He was in the middle of yelling something unintelligible when Grillby finally pushed his way through the multitude of patrons and forced them apart. Much to everyone's surprise, the smaller monster suddenly lugged Grillby in the face in protest of being manhandled by someone unrelated to the problem. Whatever noise or chatter was still going on suddenly ceased. The silence that fell over them was like a vacuum; it sucked out all the air and hardly anyone dared to move – even the monster that had punched Grillby.

What unfolded next was both fast and time-stopping slow: Grillby fixed his glasses gently only to have them crack and fall off his face. The sound of glass shattering on the ground had everyone wincing. Then there was a pause before Grillby grabbed the smaller monster by the throat and threw him out the window. He then reached for the other monster and snapped his left arm in two, knocking him to the floor and kicking him a few times in the guts and head. The groaning of the monster outside then caught his attention and so he walked out through the hole he had made in his front window and grabbed a hold of him again.

"Money.  _Now_." He demanded icily.

The monster frightfully reached in his pocket and handed Grillby his entire money pouch. He was released the moment the flame monster had a hold of it, allowing the other to scurry away in terror. He was counting the gold coins when Dogamy and Dogaressa rushed over having somehow been alerted to the ruckus. Grillby glared at them and started shouting.

"Where the hell were you!?" He reproached, gesturing to his ruined window. "The Royal Guard is never around to stop bull shit like this! Look! Look at what they did! Do you know how much it'll cost to fix!?"

Sans clenched his hands into fists as he stared on in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Grillby –  _Grillby_  of all people – was blaming the other two monsters for the mess he had made. On one hand, had they not gotten rowdy none of this would have happened. On the other, Grillby had escalated the situation on his own.

"You better get your shit together." The flame monster added, pointing at the two. "If you don't start doing your job, we'll have to take matters into our own hands."

With that, he walked back into the bar leaving Dogamy and Dogaressa to exchange uneasy looks. As he did so, the monsters in the bar began to talk again as though there wasn't a beaten monster whimpering on the floor with a broken arm. They whispered lowly amongst themselves and glared at the two Royal Guards from time to time. The things Sans heard them say had horrible shivers running down his spine that made him sick with worry and fear. Unable to stay there any longer and estranged by the person his friend had become, he left without saying goodbye to Grillby and ran home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This might be one of my favourite chapters of the whole story (atm). I think what I enjoy most about it is that it gives a look into how the other monsters are coping with the rise of violence within their community and how it's shaping them. This is the only chapter that will actually directly deal with that as the narrative is meant to be focused on Sans and Papyrus, their relationship and the way they specifically are changing (or not changing).**
> 
> **Don't know when I'll get the chance to post the next chapter, but, regardless,  
>  SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**


	4. Red Scarf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I will not let you go if you do not swear to me that you will fight if it means saving yourself no matter what."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Who thought this story was dead? Well, you were almost right.**
> 
> **So it's been a few months since I've updated anything on this account in terms of stories and whatnot mostly because of University and complete exhaustion. Now, in regards to this story specifically, I don't know how motivated I am to actually finish it. The point was to make each chapter short so writing would be a breeze, but this was met with limited success.**
> 
> **Nevertheless, I still have, like, around up to chapter 9 (maybe even 10) written.  
>  All that's really needed for those chapters is to proof read them and tweak a few things for continuity and BAM! We're good to go! So I think I'm just going to post all of them whenever I feel like proof reading them and see where that takes me.**
> 
> **I might carry on and finish the story (if I really made it all the way to chapter 10 it means I would only have 6 chapters left which really isn't a lot) or I might not.**
> 
> **The truth here is that I've moved on from the Undertale fandom and really want to indulge in My Hero Academia stuff. I've also started diving back into old fandoms and have written stuff for that as well (which I haven't yet posted).  
>  On the note of things I've been up to, I started a new tumblr but I don't reckon I'll share it any time soon.**
> 
> **But anyways, I'm just done with Undertale. Sometimes I think about this story and tell myself that I should finish it, because I still really like this idea, but I'm either too busy or unmotivated.**
> 
> **So yeah, tiny rant done. For now ENJOY!**

The end of the day couldn't have come sooner for Sans who hurriedly made his way back home. He had been stationed at one of the sentries far out of town to keep watch. While he hadn't been privy to any escalations between passing monsters, he was hardly comforted by their demeanours. They all seemed so restless and on edge. From time to time, he would catch a few words of the hushed whispers they sometimes shared and what little he had heard filled him with terror. It seemed that some of them were planning on fighting back against the Royal Guard but for reasons that weren't quite clear. The only possibility that came to the forefront of Sans's mind was they were meant to serve as a sort of scapegoat for Asgore who was still locked away in his castle, nowhere to be seen.

Today was the last day Papyrus was to spend beneath Undyne's tutelage. As of tomorrow and onwards, he was expected to exercise the responsibilities he had been taught over the course of his training period on his own. And while there was no debating whether he had mastered his new job in theory, Sans remained unconvinced in regards to his brother's willingness to truly fight a legitimate threat. He had been silent for too long and for shoddy reasons he deeply regretted; he should have opted to dash Papyrus's dreams from the very beginning rather than hope he would come to terms with the dangers on his own. Fortunately, there was still time left. He could make his brother see their reality for what it now was and then he could abandon the Royal Guard. They could wait out the shit-storm together;  _safely_.

Sans obsessively ran through the elements he intended to discuss with Papyrus as he walked home. He was going to tell him about the threat other monsters were posing to the Royal Guard and how the only way to survive in his dream job would be by hurting someone. The point was to dissuade him – to make him give up on his dream or, at the very least, wait until times became more stable for the sake of his health and safety. By the time he arrived at their door, ready to walk in, everything had been neatly sorted in his head. He took a deep breath before breaching the threshold but then abruptly halted. Papyrus was in their kitchen, hunched over the sink. He was scrubbing at something desperately all the while mumbling to himself, though Sans was too far to make out anything more than the sound of his brother's voice. Cautiously, he approached the taller skeleton who didn't yet seem aware to his presence. He was torn on whether he should alert him or not.

The closer Sans got, the more he was able to see. The sink was running and Papyrus was indeed scrubbing at something. He strained his neck to catch the slightest glimpse of what it was, only seeing red before the other violently spun around with a sucked in gasp. Papyrus backed into the sink, flailing his arms until his hands managed to anchor themselves to the counter. He looked absolutely startled, but worse than that, he was terrified. Immediately, every worst case scenario flew into Sans's mind and before he could even try to calm himself with rational thought, he noticed scratches and kinks on his brother's armour. Something had happened. Someone had tried to hurt Papyrus.

"Pap, are you okay?" Sans anxiously demanded. He took a step forward with the intent to look for injuries, but stopped in confusion when Papyrus sucked in a breath and did his best to block the sink.

"I-I'm fine brother!" He stammered, glancing rapidly between Sans's gaze and what dwelled in the basin.

"Please don't lie to me." Sans begged, dropping his shoulders. "I can see right through it. What happened?"

"It was nothing!" Papyrus insisted, but he wasn't even convincing himself. "J-just some insignificant scuffle in Waterfall again. Undyne…took care of it." His eyes went hollow and he seemed to zone out. Sans observed him carefully and noticed how he trembled as his grip against the counter tightened. He waited for a moment, but when nothing more was being said he decided it was enough. Without warning or his usual regard for Papyrus's privacy, he shoved him aside and glanced into the sink. "Sans! Don't—" He only managed to grab him by the shoulders. It wasn't enough to stop him from seeing.

"Your…scarf…" Sans mumbled as ice cold shivers ran down his spine. The sink contained wet clumps of dust, some of which were still on Papyrus's scarf. As disturbing as it was, it was nothing compared to the amount of blood that stained the fabric. It had practically turned it red; only the smallest spots still maintained the original orange colour. "It's…red…" Sans's mind blanked. The evidence was right there and yet he couldn't quite find himself capable of putting the pieces together.

"I-It's not what it looks like!" Papyrus shouted frantically and finally pried the smaller skeleton from the sink. Sans, however, couldn't pry his eyes from the scarf even at a distance. "Sans! Please!"

"Did someone…" He mumbled, trailing off. He couldn't even finish his thought. It seemed too ludicrous to remotely entertain the idea that someone had been killed by the Royal Guard – by Papyrus. "No…"

"It wasn't me! I didn't do it!" Papyrus was nearly crying and his tight grip on Sans's shoulders was beginning to hurt. He sounded like a frightened child. "I swear to God I didn't do it!"

Sans stumbled back, his legs suddenly going weak. "I-I think I need to sit down…" He declared, moving towards the nearest chair. He took a moment to gather himself before he was able to look at Papyrus again and ask: "What happened?"

The tears that had built up finally spilled over as heavy sobs wracked the taller skeleton's body. He lowered his head shamefully and rubbed the tears away with his gloved hand in a futile gesture to stop them. "W-we were ambushed." He snivelled, his voice breaking every now and again as he told the story. "There were so m-many of them…I was scared. U-Undyne tried to handle them on her own, b-but there were too many. One of them attacked me. I held him off as b-best as I could…he wouldn't allow me to spare him. And then Undyne just…f-finished it. So many spears shot out of the ground and…t-they were all impaled...I was covered in their…" Papyrus collapsed onto the ground, curling into the fetal position as his sobs turned to hyperventilation. "Oh God—O-oh God! Wh—what did I…what did we do—"

"Papyrus!" Sans cried. He pushed himself from his chair and hurried to his brother's side, but when he tried to embrace him he was roughly pushed away.

"They're dead!" He shouted, gripping his head so tightly Sans was afraid he would crack his skull. "They're dead! We killed them—I killed—"

"Papyrus stop!" Sans begged and forcefully pulled his brother into a hug. He held on tightly as the other fought, flailed and screamed. "You didn't do anything wrong! You didn't do anything wrong!"

"We killed them—" He repeated.

"Better them than you!" Sans interrupted, surprising himself with the harshness of his words. They were equally surprising to Papyrus who was stunned into silence by them. For a moment, they just stared at each other while Sans hopelessly looked for the right words to say – ones that would justify what Undyne had done without belittling the lost lives of the monsters that had attacked them. But he couldn't. Their lives weren't equal to the value he put on Papyrus. "Better them…than you…" He said, defeated and thoroughly disgusted with himself. "They were…violent…"

"But they weren't always!" Papyrus argued. "They used to be good—"

"The world is changing, Papyrus!" Sans interrupted again. "Things aren't how they used to be." He pulled away to look him in the face, "I want you to truly understand that. The degree of violence Undyne displayed to protect the both of you is inevitably going to become par for the course  _if_  you stay in the Royal Guard. You have to be ready to do what she did, now more than ever. I won't accept you dying to your kindness."

"But…what if we reason—" He tried.

"No." Sans refuted immediately. "There's no reasoning with anyone anymore. You don't have to kill like she did, but I will not let you go if you do not  _swear_  to me that you  _will_  fight if it means saving yourself no matter what."

"Sans—"

"Swear to me!" Sans demanded.

Papyrus paused, staring at his brother with wide eyes. He was slowly grasping what their world would henceforth be like. "Okay." He conceded quietly. "I swear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It's funny.**
> 
> **I was browsing through my Undertale chapter story folder and found a bunch of ideas that I started but never quite finished.**
> 
> **Like there was one that was about Sans getting pregnant from either Edge or Red. The whole thing was that Sans was dating Edge but, because they wanted different things out of life for which neither were willing to compromise without becoming miserable, they decided to break up despite lingering feelings. So they had breakup sex and parted ways the following day at which point Sans decided to get drunk to cope with his feelings. He met up with Red who also got drunk and they fucked - neither quite remembering how it got to that point, but feeling guilty afterwards (it hadn't yet been a full day since Sans and Edge had officially broken up).**
> 
> **It's a few days after those events (I think I was set on 3) where Sans decides to shower and finds an ecto belly (and womb) has formed. ~~this is where I explain that I headcannon, for skeleton pregnancies, that the results of becoming pregnant become apparent very quickly given that they don't naturally have the organs to sustain a growing lifeform.~~ From then on, the story was supposed to be about the drama of not knowing who the other father is, everyone's reactions to the news, and Sans finding support in those around him.**
> 
> **Blue and US Papyrus (I, for the life of me, cannot remember any of his nicknames right now) were also intended to be involved. US Papyrus was, for the most part, intended to be the person Sans ultimately ends up with at the end of the story given all the support and kindness he displayed and the way they just seemed to fundamentally understand eachother. For a change, I was gunning for a happy ending so Sans, Red and Edge were all supposed to make up with the latter two deciding to be present in the kid's life as their father.**
> 
> **If anyone decides this is a concept they want to pick up, just do it. You don't even need to credit me for a change. Write this story if it strikes your fancy!  
>  I kind of just want to know who you are just in case I want to check it out at some point :)**
> 
> **Now, I think it's time I go to sleep. I may or may not share more ideas I never fully committed to in the end notes of the following chapters. For now SEE YOU LATER!**


	5. Promotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Would you think less of me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Updating faster now that I've stripped myself of the burden and anxiety of conjuring the following chapter for this story.**
> 
> **Also, like, no one is reading this anymore so this is back to being just for me.  
>  It gives me a certain peace of mind haha**
> 
> **Also, also: I'm on my reading week so I have more down time even though I wasted the majority of it procrastinating and fucking around.**
> 
> **Anyways, I don't have much to add so ENJOY!**

Papyrus didn't look as though he had slept that night; the deaths of so many must have been weighing on his mind. Sans felt a bit guilty about having fallen asleep so fast in contrast. His brother may not have killed them, but the fact that he couldn't save them was likely tormenting him. He was too good for himself – for the world. And yet, not even such a brutal slaughter deterred him from waking up the next morning and pulling on his armour for work. If that wasn't going to do it, then Sans was going to have to accept nothing would. In the end, he could only pray and hope with all his heart that Papyrus finally understood what their world was coming to and every passing day, where things didn't seem to be getting any better, was only dooming them further to this new, horrible way of life. Judging from the morose look on his face, it seemed like he was finally getting it.

They hadn't spoken that morning. Sans understood his brother needed space to think and sort his mind. The most he had done was lay a hand over his briefly in a show of support. He later walked him to the door and smiled to him before shutting it. Papyrus made an effort to return it and left for Waterfall. Sans reckoned Undyne wanted to speak with him about what had happened yesterday before sending him on his patrol route in Snowdin. He wondered how she was taking it. Though Undyne was always a hot-tempered individual, it wasn't like her to lose her composure in battle. She understood better than anyone the necessity of remaining level-headed when life and death were at stake – for her or her opponents. Furthermore, Undyne wasn't cruel; at most, she was aggressive, or passionate – as Asgore often insisted. The fact of the matter was that she never sought to hurt anyone if she could avoid it. She preferred words to action despite her fiery personality. Would she ask Papyrus to remain quiet in regards to what had happened? Would she fire him? Sans admittedly hoped she would.

He spent the remainder of the day lazing about and wondering. He played a variety of scenarios in his head; some wherein Papyrus opted to agree to silence and others wherein he refused and Undyne retaliated violently. Fortunately, Sans was able to rationalise the more worrying scenarios away. If the Captain of the Royal Guard was truly troubled by Papyrus being a witness, she wouldn't have let him walk away yesterday. Still, the smaller skeleton couldn't wait for his brother to return home so he could see for himself that he was well and safe. With no work to keep him busy, the day inched by slowly. Papyrus eventually did return home much later when his shift finished.

Sans hurried to greet him at the door, opening his mouth to speak but not managing to do so before spotting something unusual on his brother the surprise of which silenced him. It was partially hidden by his reddened scarf, though it was still quite easy to see. Sans reached to push the fabric aside, revealing a badge. It was strange to see how well the two yellow arrows suited his armour – like they should have always been there. Stranger was how they made the rest of his left breast look so empty, as though he were missing a few additional badges and broaches. Nevertheless, Sans's first instinct was to congratulate Papyrus, but he seemed shamed by his apparent promotion. His gaze was cast to the ground and a frown pulled at his features.

"I'm a corporal now." Papyrus mumbled.

"Did…" Sans started, but paused to consider why such a promotion wasn't necessarily good. "Did she force it on you? To keep you quiet about yesterday?"

"To keep me…" Papyrus repeated quizzically, but then cut himself off as he shook his head. "No, it wasn't to keep me quiet. It was to congratulate me."

"Congratulate?" Sans grimaced.

"I don't know." Papyrus groaned and pushed pass him. He went into their living room and sat on the couch, cradling his face into his hands. "I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense to me…"

"Are you sure?" Sans prodded, sitting on the armrest. "She wasn't bribing you?"

"No, she really wasn't." The taller skeleton sighed. "She knows how much I value working for what I want and that just handing me a ranking would be the equivalent of a smack in the face." He paused before quietly adding: "Besides, I wouldn't need to be bribed to keep quiet. I don't ever want to talk about what happened ever again."

"Pap…" Sans huffed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Am I…am I a good person, Sans?" He asked, tilting his head to look the smaller skeleton in the eye. He seemed truly concerned and torn in regards to the answer.

"Of course you are." Sans replied without a second of hesitation.

Papyrus held his gaze for a moment. "I don't feel like I am…" He admitted, looking away. He reached for his badge, fingers brushing the contour of the arrows. "This feels wrong…dirty…"

"I don't know what to tell you, Papyrus." Sans confessed. "From the way you always talked about the Royal Guard, I can only assumed you expected it to be easy – that you didn't think you would have to fight anyone. Perhaps that would have been true a few months ago, before…"

"Before Asgore killed someone." Papyrus mumbled bitterly.

Sans nodded uneasily. "Yes."

"I wanted to help them." Papyrus declared. "I wanted to make the Underground a better place, to keep it safe and peaceful. But I don't feel like that's what I'm doing…" He lowered his hand but kept his eyes trained on his badge, "I don't feel like that's what I did even if Undyne tells me otherwise." Sans reached around his shoulders and gave him a comforting squeeze. Papyrus wasn't meant for the life he was choosing to follow, but no one could pull him away from it if he himself didn't choose to do so. "Sans…?" The taller skeleton asked after a beat. "What if…what if I had to kill someone?"

Sans tensed. "I wouldn't wish that upon you."

"I know, but what if I had to?" Papyrus insisted. "Would you think less of me?"

Sans was taken aback by the weight of the question. Even though death and killing seemed like an inevitability given the way their world was crumbling, associating such things with Papyrus seemed ill-fitting – like mismatched puzzle pieces from separate box sets. He remembered how tormented he had felt the day before when he had been under the impression his brother had killed. It wasn't a nice feeling. And though he loathed to admit it, even to himself in the secrecy of his mind, he had viewed his brother differently for a few seconds. He was horrified by him. But he couldn't tell him that.

"Not at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **No one's been clamouring for it and yet no one has been begging me to stop either because no one is reading this story, so I'm going to share another idea that I never completed.**
> 
> **Unlike the previous idea I shared, I actually gave this one a title: "Pockets Full of Posies".**
> 
> **I've always wanted to write an apocalyptic story with zombies and shit so that was what was driving me. In fact, I kind of wanted to expand more on a one shot that I wrote a while back (Dust to Dust) because I thought it had the good foundations for a compelling chapter story.**
> 
> **So the way the outbreak was to begin was with Frisk. Humans would have also been subjected to a zombie apocalypse à la The Last of Us and Frisk, a turned human, would have fallen into the Underground, infecting everyone.**
> 
> **The first victims would be the monsters of the Ruins, Toriel included. Now the way I figured the turning would work for monsters is that, after being bitten or exposed to the spores, they would deteriorate slowly, losing HP and whatnot. Upon hitting zero, they would begin to dust, but it would be something like an incomplete process. And then they would reanimate and fuck shit up.**
> 
> **So the story would actually begin with Sans and Papyrus and follow them throughout. We would see through their eyes how the zombies swept over Snowden before they could evacuate everyone and how they essentially would have been stuck to leave so many innocents behind to save themselves. It would have been about the dilemma of trying to save everyone they could and Sans feeling guilty that he could definitely do more to help by displaying his full strength but choosing not to.**
> 
> **As the story would go on, more and more people would die. The goal would have been to reach the Lab, escape to the Capital and destroy the only path there - the elevator - to stop the hoard of zombies from advancing. However, it doesn't quite work. Unlike my last story, this one was intended to be very pessimistic.**
> 
> **Undyne would make it to the Lab, but, bitten in the process, would have decided to exile herself, choosing to face the hoard and kill as many zombies as she could before turning. Authority would have then shifted onto Alphys for the time it took to reach Asgore. However, given how little they understood about the virus, this proved to be a terrible idea because zombie Undyne was just as powerful as normal Undyne. So while Alphys was trying to organize everyone to evacuate up the elevator, the zombie hoard would have broken in.**
> 
> **Cue many deaths, people trying to run into the elevator for salvation only to be brutally devoured while Alphys, Sans, Papyrus and the few Snowden and Waterfall survivors left, flee into the secret lab. While the hoard grows, turning the Hotland monsters and making their way into the Capital, some straggler zombies stay behind to try to hunt them down. Out of panic, they end up locking themselves in a relatively empty room without food or water. So, at this point, they're pretty fucked because there's no way out of this. They're either going to die of starvation or the zombies are going to break in and turn them. Even if they did get out, they would still be fucked because, by that point, the zombies would have overrun the whole Underground.**
> 
> **However, turns out they don't have the luxury to die slowly because one of the survivors got infected in the panic to escape the hoard and is locked in the room with them. Sensing the panic, the zombies are also trying to break in with more vigour. So they're fucked and everyone has to come to terms with how they're going to die.**
> 
> **But, at the last second, Sans takes Papyrus and teleports them away; back home. The hoard passed, so they're safe for the moment, but issues arise from how Sans had the power to save so many and chose not to. I actually had a reason for this, but can't remember.**
> 
> **Anyway, to make a long story short, Papyrus was either going to be bitten or choose to kill himself rather than live in such a garbage world and Sans was going to let zombie Papyrus kill him.**
> 
> **So yeah, no happy ending in this one :P**
> 
> **If anyone wants to take this concept and make a full fledged story out of it,  
>  same thing I said for the last idea I gave out applies. You don't need to ask,  
>  I just want you to tell me so I can go read it if I want to.**


	6. Night Terrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That's not a healthy way to deal with this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I checked and, turns out, I only wrote up to chapter 9. Chapter 10 to 16 are completely unwritten. Don't know how that'll impact what I do with this story or if it'll impact it at all. I have no idea if I'm going to try to write the remaining chapters once I'm done posting everything I've already done. It'll depend on so many things, so please don't hold your breath because you'll probably end up disappointed.**
> 
> **Anywho, I was thinking about updating this past weekend but I wasn't home and didn't have access to these files. Not that I'm in a rush to update lol I'm very much taking my time.**
> 
> **Last thing: I've been including story plots that I wanted to write (a loooong time ago) but never committed to in the end section of these notes (this has been happening for a few chapters now). If you've noticed someone has already expressed interest in an idea, don't take it as "geez well I guess I can't write my own spin anymore". There isn't a limit to how many people can write for a story idea. If you want to, do it. Don't feel limited because you're not.**
> 
> **Now, ENJOY!**

Sans woke up, startled. He flung himself up, anxious but drowsy until he heard his brother screaming. There was something dreadfully sobering about his brother's chilling screeches. Sans ran out of his room to Papyrus's, ready to act. He practically pulled the door off its hinges as he swung it open, then jumping back when a series of bones shot out of the ground defensively. He waited a second, allowing the attack to fade, before darting in and finding the taller skeleton thrashing about on his bed as his magic flared wildly. An orange glow was oozing from his closed eyes and grimacing mouth; he was covered in cold sweat. Sans looked around for any potential danger, but discovered nothing. His window was properly shut and a quick peek in his closet revealed nothing out of the ordinary. There was no one and yet Papyrus was seemingly fighting to keep himself safe.

"Papyrus—" Sans called, but he went unheard.

His brother continued to flail and panic as he screamed. Before he could call out to him again, Sans sensed another magic attack and jumped onto the bed to avoid it. More bones shot out of the ground, covering every inch of Papyrus's floor, knocking over all of his furniture – even piercing through some of it. Sans needed to wake him up. He looked around desperately for a hint of any kind to indicate how, but found nothing. The smaller skeleton shook his head and forced himself to do something. He gripped Papyrus by the shoulders and was about to shake him when he realised such an abrupt awakening would likely not end well. Instead, he pulled him into a tight embrace, restricting his movements as he spoke, hoping it would calm his brother down sooner rather than later.

"Papyrus—" Sans tried again; sucking in a sharp breath as another bone attack narrowly grazed him, tearing his sleeve of his shirt but, fortunately, nothing else. "Pap, you're okay! You're okay, it's just us here. No one's going to hurt you…"

The more he spoke, the more Papyrus seemed to calm, though it was still long before the screaming and flailing stopped. When it did, it was replaced with tears and, shortly after, Papyrus's eyes fluttered open. He seemed both tired and confused. All Sans did was smile comfortingly as he continued to hold him. Hesitantly, Papyrus returned the embrace and buried his face in his brother's chest. They remained tangled for a long time in total silence. The room was a mess and most of the furniture had been broken, but they could easily be replaced. What mattered most was Papyrus was safe.

"Why…why are you here, Sans?" Papyrus eventually asked, his voice hoarse and low.

"You had a bit of a nightmare…" Sans gently replied. "I came to wake you."

Papyrus sighed deeply and pushed himself further into his brother's body, drinking in the warmth and love of the embrace. "Thank you." He breathed, squeezing him tighter.

"Do you…do you want me to spend the night?" Sans offered. With the adrenaline wearing off, he was getting sleepy.

Rather than answer, Papyrus pulled back only to lean in and press their mouths together. Sans stiffened and the surprise he felt pushed all of the exhaustion away. Before he could react, he was coaxed onto the mattress, Papyrus switching their positions as he sought to deepen the kiss. The smaller skeleton deliberated for a moment, eventually allowing his brother to have his way. He opened his mouth slightly, just enough to have an ecto tongue thrust in. It wasn't that the contact was unpleasant; it was simply a surprise as it seemed entirely unwarranted. He hadn't known Papyrus had felt this way about him, though it was entirely possible he, in fact, didn't – or so Sans reckoned after considering the way some people coped with trauma and distress. His suspicion was only further confirmed when Papyrus tentatively grinded his hips against his, sparking both the beginnings of delicious pleasure and an end to what they were doing.

"Whoa, Pap…" Sans breathed, pushing his brother away gently with a firm hand on his sternum. He kept a grin on his face and tried to speak lightly so as to avoid sounding upset or judgemental. "That's not a healthy way to deal with this."

"Sorry…" He mumbled, moving off Sans and lying down.

"Do you maybe…want to talk about it?" Sans suggested, shifting onto his side.

Papyrus smiled and shook his head. He reached for his brother and pulled him in closer, snuggling their bodies together as he shut his eyes and relaxed. "No." He answered. "I just want you to be here with me, like this. It's all I need."

Sans pinched his mouth together in discontentment. While Papyrus was an adult and mature enough to decide what was best for himself, he still wasn't happy the former had elected to keep his pain to himself. And yet, he wasn't about to force him to open up. He was going to have to accept that Papyrus would tell him what was on his mind when he was ready and, if that was never, so be it. Sans pressed his forehead to his brother's chest and closed his eyes.

"You know I'll always be here for you." He mumbled as they drifted to sleep.

"I know." Papyrus replied softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ridiculously short chapter is followed by a pitch for a story idea that's just as long. To shake things up a little, this one is Gaster/Sans.**
> 
> **FACT: Gaster/Sans was actually the first ship I was ever interested in for Undertale and it remains my true OTP. I just never really found the right inspiration or story for them.**
> 
> **So this one also had a title: "Groundhog Game". If I remember correctly, I did post like the first three chapters or something before deciding "I'm not into this anymore" and deleting it. OR I might have turned it into a oneshot (which is something I've done with a different chapter story for Undertale). I'm not sure. You'd have to go check the stories I've written to really know.**
> 
> **ANYWAY, this was intended to be a time travel fic. So, post-Undertale in whatever happy ending you want, Sans is living as well as he can in spite of the Gaster-shaped hole in his Gaster-shaped heart. He doesn't really talk about it because he doesn't really remember what happened. He kind of just knows someone crucial is missing from his life - someone that would make him complete.**
> 
> **Through whatever means, Frisk learns of this and, being the perfect human,  
>  decides they want to SAVE everyone. This includes making Sans happy. So they make a deal with the Annoying Dog which is essentially the God of Undertale (bc it's the way Toby Fox decided to represent himself in the game so I was playing off that). The deal is that the Annoying Dog will send Sans back in time three days before what kills Gaster kills...Gaster. Sans has to choose to do this and, if he does, he gets as many tries as he likes. Sans loses the game when he gives up on Saving Gaster.**
> 
> **I kind of see the Annoying Dog being an uncaring and unloving God, so he's not too concern with the damage he could be doing to both Sans's sanity and emotions.**
> 
> **Btw, can you see in what way I was influenced by Majora's Mask???**
> 
> **Once Sans gets the option to save Gaster, he takes it. Duh. He gets teleported back to three days before whatever happens, happens except he isn't given any information on what was going on and what he was doing. He kind of has to figure everything out as he goes. What he eventually learns is that he's Gaster's assistant and works with Alphys (and the other ghost ppl or whatever which we get to know).**
> 
> **So Sans tries different tactics to save Gaster and nothing really works. He tries telling him he's going to die, but he doesn't remember how it happens and can't actually prove he's from the future. On the second reset, he tries again,  
>  convinces Gaster only to have him decide he can't do anything differently because it's important for the spacetime continuum or something. Third try,  
>  Sans tries to sabotage the experiment, gets caught and fired. The fourth time,  
>  he tries dragging Gaster away from the Lab any means possible and does the same thing the fifth and sixth times but differently.**
> 
> **The more he tries, the more discouraged he gets. Every now and again we cut back to Frisk and the Annoying Dog who give their commentary and worry about a looming figure in the menu screen (waddup it's ya boi, Gaster).**
> 
> **At this point, my inspirations from the Edge of Tomorrow appear. With every reset, Sans learns more about Gaster and develops feelings for him making every death all the more painful. It's only on his last reset that he decides to just tell Gaster he loves him and to not do the experiment, it doesn't work and he dies again. Sans then breaks down and expects to go to the menu screen,  
>  but he's given another reset he doesn't want.**
> 
> **Rather than try to save Gaster, he does nothing and goes to his room where he begs and cries for Frisk and the Annoying Dog to make the resets stop. He spends the three days doing that and not leaving his room. On the third day,  
>  he just lies in bed and waits for Gaster to die again, looking at the clock again and again. However, Gaster doesn't die this time because he decides to check on Sans rather than attend the experiment that kills him.**
> 
> **He saves Gaster and the two are brought to the menu screen. It's there, crying happy tears, Sans learns that saving Gaster meant losing Alphys. She dies instead of him and it's there he has to decide if he's going to allow Gaster to take Alphys's place or not. He obviously chooses not to sacrifice Alphys, but it isn't easy and Gaster forgives him before he disappears forever.**
> 
> **Sans and Frisk are brought back to the present. Frisk tries to apologize, Sans wants none of it and leaves to go home. He goes to his room and cries when his door unexpectedly opens and Gaster walks in.**
> 
> **The end! Happy ending! Yay!**
> 
> **I have to pee so much.**
> 
> **SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER1111!!11!**


	7. Near Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Let's just have a walk. I think it'll help you relax more than sitting on the sofa all day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I cannot express how much I don't want to write about the economic benefits of annexing Hawaii in 1898. Like there were none, okay? There was sugar, but then the Cubans were like "hey, our sugar's better" and McKinley was like "dude ur right" and then the McKinley tariff happened and the Hawaiians were economically FUCKED!**
> 
> **So because of that, I have to write about why it was a good stepping stone for commercial relations in Asia but it's so repetitive especially after how I just explained the military strategic**
> 
> **omg I'm dying. I don't even want to complain about this anymore.**
> 
> **Anyways, you're getting another chapter while I work up the strength to bullshit a page about Hawaii and economics during 1898. ENJOY!**
> 
> **PS: I don't think any of you will but, just in case, don't send me your own info on this. This is a Uni paper, wikipedia ain't going to cut it and if it's not peer reviewed then get that shit out of my face plz**

With Asgore still nowhere to be seen, the Underground further plummeted into chaos. Unrest and madness were spreading among the people, leaving the Royal Guard as some of the only scarce sane folk around but, they too were beginning to change. They were becoming more brutal in their interventions, jumping to violence as a solution more often than attempting reason or diplomacy. Sans supposed he oughtn't be surprised. How could they remain virtuous and fight in the name of a King who chose to hide away in his castle? Who chose to let them fend for themselves in a lawless world? Who chose to have them serve as his scapegoat? It had been months since the world first began crumbling. Rumours were steadily circulating that Asgore may have died, though all were unfounded and unrealistic. Still, it didn't keep some of the crazier monsters to form into groups with the intent of taking over the Underground and instating a new order. Sans wondered if he should return to Asgore to talk some sense into him, but fear and worry kept him in Snowdin.

Today, Papyrus finally had a day off and wanted to spend it calmly. Sans thus decided to do everything in his power to allow for his brother to relax as much as possible. He took care in picking up after himself and even preparing his brother's favourite breakfast for added comfort. The taller skeleton appreciated the gestures and thanked him, but his voice had lost its chipper edge and Papyrus sounded more exhausted than anything. Sans was taken aback by the unexpected lack of energy. Was it his fault? Was he exhausting Papyrus? Perhaps, his brother thrived in menial house work? He always did seem to find a degree of pleasure in doing the dishes or posting passive aggressive notes above Sans's messes. But rather than admit to the aforementioned speculation, Papyrus allowed himself to melt into their sofa and stare emptily at the blank TV screen.

"Hey, Pap." Sans called. His brother slowly tore his unfocused stare from the TV and met Sans's gaze. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable out of your armour?"

Papyrus looked at his armour pensively, running a finger over the new badge he had been given. He was a sergeant now, much to the displeasure of his coworkers. Some of them were under the impression Undyne was favouring him because he was both her student and her friend. They found it frustrating to have a relatively new member rise above them in the span of barely three months and become their boss. In Papyrus's defense, none of them had sought promotions though they likely would have gotten them if they had tried. With that said, Sans couldn't entirely refute the argument of Undyne's bias. The taller skeleton hardly ever spoke of his work anymore. He had no way of knowing if his brother was doing strictly as he was told or if he was going above and beyond – in the case of the old Papyrus, the answer would have undoubtedly been the latter. While Sans was fairly certain it was still the case with  _this_  Papyrus, he left room for error.

"No." The taller skeleton eventually answered. "I'm fine just like this."

"You sure?" Sans pushed.

Papyrus nodded briefly and returned his gaze to the TV. It was bizarre seeing him so despondent. Sans hardly ever saw him smile anymore; whenever he did, it was to humour him and pretend he was fine despite that evidently not being the case. He was a shell of his former self and it was painful to watch. Sans just wanted to help. He only ever wanted what was best for his brother.

"Hey." He said again as he walked to the remote and shut the TV. "Why don't we get some fresh air? Let's go for a walk."

"I walk every day." Papyrus pointed out. "It's the bulk of my job."

"No, you  _patrol._ " Sans insisted, emphasising on the difference. "Let's just have a walk. I think it'll help you relax more than sitting on the sofa all day."

Papyrus considered the suggestion. "Okay." He eventually agreed, pushing himself onto his feet.

"You going to stay in your armour?" Sans asked.

The taller skeleton smiled forcefully. "I don't think it's wise for me to take it off anymore."

"Fair enough." Sans tried to say nonchalantly. He hoped he managed to hide how unnerved he was by the statement.

They walked out of the house, mindfully locking the front door before heading to town. The weather was nice, leaning towards cold, but not intolerably so. The most Sans did was stuff his hands into his hoodie to shield them while Papyrus tightened his scarf, pulling it slightly over his mouth. They walked shoulder to shoulder for added warmth, though it wasn't entirely necessary. However, Sans had to admit he felt safer. None of the monsters had a reason to want to attack him, he hadn't wronged any of them. Though, if one of them dared to try their luck, he could easily protect himself, but he doubted any of them would. Still, the empty, angry looks of the passer-byers were cause for disconcert. They bore into Papyrus with such hate.

"Ignore them." Papyrus indicated quietly. "They won't stop no matter what you say or do."

Sans looked at his brother. He seemed so tired. "Do you want to go back home?" He offered.

Papyrus smiled a little more genuinely as he shook his head. "Believe it or not, I'm feeling better."

"I'm glad." Sans replied.

A few minutes later, they were walking out of Snowdin and the amount of surrounding monsters had decreased significantly. In this relative solitude, Papyrus relaxed. He found it easier to speak and, slowly but surely, mirth was returning to his tone. By the time they neared the Ruins, Papyrus was almost back to his former self. He was making quips and speaking with animated gestures as he laughed. It was refreshing to see – to hear. He hadn't heard his brother laugh in a long while. Sans hoped he could find a way to maintain this fading part of his brother. In a world slowly going to shit, he found light in Papyrus being himself.

"I'm happy to see you like this." Sans told him.

"It's been a while." Papyrus agreed with a nod. "Thanks for convincing me to go out on a walk."

"My pleasure, bro." Sans smirked.

"Um, on a different note…" Papyrus started as he stopped walking. Sans halted a few steps ahead and looked back curiously. The taller skeleton fidgeted nervously and fiddled with his fingers. "I wanted to ask you something…i-it's been on my mind for a while."

"…What is it?" Sans pressed after an extended pause.

Papyrus flinched and got more flustered. "Uh, well…I-I was wondering…" He stammered, "I mean, um, would you…would you be opposed to, uh…maybe…"

"Just spit it out, bro." Sans snickered.

"I want to be intimate with you!" Papyrus exclaimed, fists clenched as tightly as his shut eyes. His eyes then popped open as he slapped his hands over his mouth almost as though he hadn't been quite aware of what he wanted to say and was shocked with himself. A blush began to dust over his cheeks and his eyes shifted towards the ground. "R-romantically, I mean..."

Sans blinked at him in surprise. He hadn't thought his brother was genuinely interested in that sort of thing. As far as he was concerned, last time was a test trial of the sort and that was it. Sans had also been under the impression Papyrus was asexual but, admittedly, for no particular reason. Now that his interests were out in the open, he struggled to process them let alone conceive the beginnings of a response. The more he replayed the words, the more he blushed and shrank in on himself. The smaller skeleton had never thought of his brother that way, even after he had first kissed him, but he wasn't opposed to his feelings nor to the prospect of doing more so long as Papyrus was in a healthy mindset.

The trees behind Papyrus rustled, drawing both of their attentions to the suspicious movement. A monster emerged from the cover, claws at the ready with sights focused on Papyrus. The taller skeleton responded by standing upright and staring him down. He was suddenly serious in the way Sans imagined he usually was when he was working. The intruding monster didn't seem put off, but rather further agitated. He took a few steps closer, moving in a menacing manner.

"What business do you have here?" Papyrus demanded. The monster didn't answer. Instead, he seemed to be getting ready for a fight. "Answer me!"

"Murderer!" The monster screeched as he lunged for Papyrus.

Sans was pushed out of the way, falling onto his hands and knees. Given the distance at which the attacker had chosen to strike, Papyrus was provided with ample time to summon protective bones to block him. However, neither had realised he was only a distraction for the second monster who seemingly sprung out of nowhere and slashed at Papyrus's throat. The second's knife sliced through the red fabric of his scarf and into the bone, drawing bloody marrow with such ease, elegance even, it was as though it were cutting through butter. Papyrus fell back, clutching at his throat as he gargled and looked up at his second attacker in pure terror. Sans, on the other hand, only saw red.

Red scarf.

Red marrow.

Red rage.

The next thing he knew, his blaster had been summoned and he pulverised the monster who dared to try taking Papyrus from him. Their dust scattered with the wind while the distraction fled from where he had come before he could suffer the same treatment. Despite his rage, Sans put it aside to care for his brother. He hurried to his side, pressing his hand tightly against the bleeding wound. Crimson marrow seeped from between his fingers no matter how tightly he tried to keep them. Red drops fell onto the snow; staining it. Papyrus was terrified.

"Don't worry, Papyrus." Sans reassured with a trembling voice as he healed him with what little magic he possessed. "I got you, I got you…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It's time for non-obligatory obligatory idea pitch, brought to you by me! Woo!**
> 
> **So this one might have had a title once upon a time, but I'm just going to call it Yandere Papyrus story. For this story, I did write three chapters which I posted here before I realised I didn't want to commit to this. Fortunately for me, the first three chapters seemed like they had a good beginning, middle and end so I converted into a oneshot and left it like that. You can go read it if you want, but I'm not going to tell you what I called it because I don't remember and I'm fucking mentally tired**
> 
> **Anyways, my goal with this story was to write a Yandere Papyrus story without any rape. I'm not about those rape stories but I like yandere stuff cuz, when it's really well written, it gets all psychological on your ass and it's great. So, inspired by Hannibal from the TV series (ultimate not rapey yandere), I was going to write a non-rape yandere story with Sans as the victim.**
> 
> **Side note: holy SHIT there are so many Pap/Sans rape stories on this website**
> 
> **So, start of the relationship, Sans was going to be at his lowest point after failing at so many of his previous relationships and being stood up by a guy (Grillby) he had a crush on for the longest time. However, Pap was going to be there to pick him up and then confess and Sans, being sad and desperate, would have been like ok let's do this**
> 
> **The relationship is weird at first bc this is the first time the other person is like way into it and making so many efforts for Sans. The dynamic is something he isn't used to so he just tries his best and rolls with it. Sometimes, Pap gets weird and possessive when they're out in public or hanging out with friends, but Sans brushes it off.**
> 
> **However, as the relationship goes on, Pap gets more possessive. He throws fits whenever Sans wants to go hang out with a friend (Toriel) without him and seems to go out of his way to isolate him. However, Sans doesn't really pick up on the isolation thing. So more times than not, he cancels on Toriel and stays home.**
> 
> **At some point though, Toriel decides she's going to see her boi and just comes over. They hang out and it's great until Pap comes home and gets really mad. But it's this quiet anger Sans doesn't notice. And, btw, he's oblivious to this shit because he's kind of used to it. Like, at this point, this is just Pap being Pap. However, to Toriel, it's not and she picks up on it so she makes an excuse to leave.**
> 
> **Pap isn't abusive to Sans so he doesn't hit him or yell at him or anything, he just calmly sits down and they talk. He says something about how he was taken aback by Toriel being there and how it made him uncomfortable because he hadn't expected her. Sans apologises and admits he thought about texting him, but he forgot in the midst of all their chatting. Pap apologises too and they make up so it's all good and shit.**
> 
> **Cut to a few days later and Toriel is missing. Frisk is looking for her and has enlisted the help of others. Pap, being a good friend, helps also but it's at this point that Sans notices how he's not actually helping. He's just pretending and that makes him upset bc Toriel's his bff so what the fuck, right?**
> 
> **And this is where everything unravels bc Sans starts to notice how much he doesn't care about Toriel and also the others. He's rude and dismissive to Undyne and Frisk and he doesn't ever want to be away from Sans at all. It's overbearing and exhausting so Sans has to hide in the bathroom to be alone, but soon that's something he can't even do.**
> 
> **This leads him to finding a new hiding spot: the laundry room where he discovers the washing machine is covering a trapped door?? So when Pap is away, he decides to investigate only to find a fuckton of dust and blood and the mangled bodies of Grillby and Toriel just barely alive. He tries to get them out, but can't before Pap comes home.**
> 
> **He manages to hide that he knows for a good day before the truth comes out. Sans ends up in the same pit with Toriel and Grillby, bones broken so he can't run. However, there's not enough place for three so Pap makes Sans choose who to kill to make space for him. He chooses Grillby but Pap dislikes Toriel more so he kills her instead.**
> 
> **Pap then tortures them both for a while in various ways (BUT NEVER SEXUALLY BC HE STILL LOVES SANS AND NO CONSENT MEANS NO IN GENERAL) and it's only when Grillby finally dies that Sans tries to escape - he didn't before out of concern for him being killed. The end section of this story was meant to be Sans finding a way out and either escaping from Pap (with the knowledge that he's going to try to hunt him forever) or just killing Pap.**
> 
> **Btw don't ask me where Sans's OP powers went cuz I don't know and shut up**


	8. Gravelly Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could he still be a good person?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It's me, back at it again with the delayed update.**
> 
> **This is part of my break from writing a fucking long essay :P**
> 
> **I've got to be honest though, what little interest I had in maybe continuing this story is dwindling fast. I don't know if this is the last chapter I've prepped or not (I mentioned it somewhere, but I don't remember), though if it is, odds are this is how it'll stay.**
> 
> **I mean, I only got two people reading anyways so who really cares haha**
> 
> **That was not passive aggressive btw, it was factual more than anything else**
> 
> **Anyways, I'm tired and dying both internally and externally. Now, ENJOY!**

Sans had always felt like he had to be better than everyone – not out of pride or arrogance, but rather to set an example for his little brother and anyone else foolish enough to look to him for guidance. He had thus settled upon two core values on which to base his life so as to be and remain a good person: kindness and mercy. He felt that one should always look to offer compassion and sympathy to those around as there was nothing to be gained from selfishness and egotism. And while one would inevitably get upset at one time or another, mercy, he felt, was the key to reconciliation and progress. Positive emotions, such as happiness, weren't what made a person good; their actions defined them. Yesterday, Sans had lost any right to call himself a good person. He had murdered.

He was a murderer.

Papyrus now laid in his bed, sleeping with a bandage wrapped around his neck. While he looked peaceful and serene; he reminded Sans of a corpse prepped for a funeral viewing. He could hardly stand the sight of him. Whenever he stared for too long, he could almost see his brother turning grey; threatening to crumble and dust. Sans didn't want to think about that and so he opted not to look. He sat next to his brother, his back towards him with his sharp gaze focused on the door. The smaller skeleton buried his face in his hands and held in a sob. He was horrified with himself. Never had he ever thought he would kill even for Papyrus.

Had he been right to kill?

Could he still be a good person?

On one hand, the monster had been a threat. He had sought to murder Papyrus and so Sans's retaliation was in the name of self-defence. However, nullifying a threat didn't necessarily necessitate killing it; Sans was strong and intelligent, he could have found another way. He didn't  _have_  to do it, especially because the monster's target had only been Papyrus. The only reason he killed was because he had been angry – blinded with rage. And yet, who was to say the monster wouldn't have tried to attack him next? Clearly, he was deranged, there was no telling whether Sans truly hadn't been in any dire danger himself. But still, had killing been the only option at his disposal?

"…" Papyrus groaned.

Sans gasped at the unexpected sound and spun back to see the taller skeleton slowly return to consciousness. The latter's face contorted into a pained grimace and he slowly managed his eyes open. For a moment, he seemed confused by where he was, but he quickly gathered his surroundings and relaxed. A smile softened his features once his eyes fell upon Sans. "H…hello." He uttered, his voice low and gravelly.

"How are you feeling?" Sans asked, resting a gentle hand over his.

"Thirst…y." Papyrus replied. He tried to laugh nonchalantly, but, instead, fell into a nasty coughing fit.

"Hold on, I'll get you a glass of water." Sans said.

He pranced down to the kitchen quickly, snatching a cup and filling it from the tap. He was relieved that Papyrus was finally awake, but the sentiment sparked memories of the life he had decimated. He tried not to think of the monster's family nor about the closure they would never feel in regards to his fate. The smaller skeleton screwed his eyes shut and tried shaking the thought away. His mind wandered to what the first monster – the one that had successfully fled – had yelled.

" _Murderer!"_

Sans dwelled. He frowned, wondering why Papyrus would have been called such a thing so accusingly. He glanced up the stairs, a nervous pit growing in his stomach. Papyrus hadn't killed. He would have said so – or, at least, Sans hoped he would have elected to confide in him. If he had killed, then who? He considered what he knew about Papyrus's role as a Royal Guard and couldn't think of any instances. Was it possible the monster had been calling Asgore a murderer symbolically through Papyrus? A lot of people were attacking the Royal Guard with that very intent, so the thought wasn't entirely absurd. In the end, the only way to know for sure was to ask.

Sans returned to his brother's side and helped him drink the water. The action seemed to pain him, though, once he finished, he did seem somewhat better and his voice was far less strained. Still gravelly. Sans set the glass on Papyrus's bedside table and sat by his side. Silence washed over them as he tried to build up the courage to ask the question to which he feared the answer. Just when he was about to take the plunge, however, the taller skeleton took a hold of his hand and offered a tender smile; prolonging the quiet.

"Thank you…for…saving me." Papyrus uttered.

"Alphys did most of the work." Sans brushed off. "All I did was buy you some time. She even patched you up."

"Is she…still here?" Papyrus asked.

Sans shook his head. "She left when she was certain your condition was stable. I need to call her though."

"Later." Papyrus requested.

"Sure." Sans conceded. They were steadily falling back into a silence and while he wanted to stew in that calmness, the question nagging at the back of his head wouldn't allow for much relaxation. "Um…" He forced himself to utter, drawing Papyrus's look to his. He struggled to hold it. "That monster…the first one…he called you a murderer?" Papyrus stiffened and retracted his hand as he looked away. "Why?" Sans pushed.

Papyrus said nothing. It took a few minutes for Sans to realise he was refusing to answer. The reaction wasn't very comforting and he wasn't going to stand for it.

"Papyrus." Sans said sternly. It seemed to distress his brother. "Why did he call you that?"

Though the taller skeleton still refused to meet his gaze, Sans could easily see his growing anguish. It was as though he was trying to think of a lie or deliberating whether he should stay silent all the while realising the longer he didn't speak, the more he seemed guilty. Perhaps this spoke for itself; perhaps it answered his question wordlessly, but Sans couldn't believe it without actually hearing it. Until Papyrus admitted to having murdered, he wasn't going to believe it.

"I'm…sorry…" He eventually choked. Sans sucked in a sharp breath, tensing as he waited for his brother to elaborate. He looked defeated, like he was done pretending. "I didn't want…you…to…think less…of me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sans demanded quietly. He clenched his hands into fists, hoping they would stop shaking.

"I killed." Papyrus admitted flatly, his eyes filling with tears. There was no longer any place for denial. "In Waterfall…on…my last…training…day."

"Y…you said that was Undyne." Sans stammered, overwhelmed by the wrongness that filled his body. Papyrus was too good to kill. How could he accept that he had slaughtered one let alone dozens?

"I lied." He said.

And slowly, Sans fell into despair as he realised he had killed for something impure and warped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I struggled to think of a story idea I hadn't already mentioned until I looked in my folders and found "The Rise and Fall of King Papyrus". This one is going to be way shorter than all the others because I'm dead on the inside and I don't really remember.**
> 
> **It was definitely going to take place in the Papyrus is King timeline with Sans attempting to shelter his brother as much as possible from the political side of the job. Given the deaths and shit, courtesy of Frisk, the bourgeoisie is thinking of orchestrating a coup because Papyrus kind of just fell into the job without much support. Coups can be pretty bloody (or dusty hehehe) so it's in Sans's interest to keep his brother in place so he can keep living.**
> 
> **Btw, this is established earlier than this, but Sans and Papyrus are in a lowkey relationship and incest is taboo.**
> 
> **So anyways, Sans eventually notices there are 5 monsters from the bourgeoisie that are giving him the most trouble. They have a squad name, but I don't remember. The monster at the head of the squad is a woman who's pretty cunning and sees an advantage in keeping Papyrus on the throne because he's easy to manipulate and single. Now she, herself, doesn't want to marry him to gain more power, but she wants to hook him up with her niece.**
> 
> **Usually, Sans is with Papyrus whenever the Squad 5 (that's their name now) want to speak to him so they don't fuck with him, but they manage to catch him alone and trick Papyrus into agreeing a marriage is a good idea. And it is a good idea because the surviving monsters are real sad and hopeless so this should perk them up a bit.**
> 
> **So naive Papyrus initially intends to just marry Sans because the Squad 5 never said "marry this person". So Sans has to break it to him that they can't just do that because everyone'll get way pissed and it'll be a bad shitstorm. Sans then informs him that he's going to have to marry one of the nobles probably and Papyrus doesn't want to because that would be like cheating on Sans.**
> 
> **So Sans is like "cool yay thanks for choosing me" and they leave it at that. He meets up with the woman (let's call her Jennifer or something) leading Squad 5 to tell her "hey dumbass your plan didn't work because Papyrus doesn't want to marry anyone" but she retaliates with "marriage or bloody coup, take your pick"**
> 
> **So Sans has to go back to Papyrus to tell him he absolutely needs to marry and he's okay with being a concubine even if he's not. Papyrus is sad and decides to break up with Sans instead because he's not a cheater, not even on someone he doesn't love.**
> 
> **Jennifer wins. Papyrus picks her niece cuz he's like "shit I don't know or care". The marriage gets organised but the truth is, the nobility and Papyrus are way out of tune with the people. They're actually way pissed about the marriage because it's like making light of all the bad shit that happened and a waste of funds for theatrics. The Underground is still in need of reparations so the money should have gone to that.**
> 
> **To add insult to injury, the people aren't even allowed to attend (Papyrus didn't organise this btw) and they kind of only get to see Papyrus and new Queen AFTER the marriage for a few seconds. So the marriage takes place, Sans is sad, Jennifer makes a snide comment about how she knew about him and Papyrus, how she thinks it's gross and things are better this way. Sans is more sad. Then, the marriage is completed and they go out on the balcony to wave.**
> 
> **And then Marx comes in cuz ooo boi it's time for the Revolution! Marx doesn't really come in btw. But there is a revolution. The people revolt and decide fuck the monarchy, who needs it anyways now that the REAL royal family is super dead. So they start trying to break in to depose Papyrus. So he and the nobles who can fall back and barricade themselves further into the palace while the guards try to control the situation.**
> 
> **Realising they're in a bit of a pickle, Papyrus decides he should probably go talk to his subjects to resolve this peacefully. Sans thinks it's a terrible idea because they're violent and he could die, but Jennifer and the other nobles are like "yes, go" bc they would benefit from his death.**
> 
> **And to make a long story short, Papyrus decides to go, kisses Sans one last time, presumably bc he knows he real dead, and is executed by the masses.**
> 
> **There might have been more to it but I don't remember. What I do remember is that Papyrus dies via execution somehow :P**


	9. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They probably targeted me because I looked weak!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Good news, everybody! Turns out I DID write chapter 9! Bad news tho: didn't write chapter 10. Optimistic news tho: I did start writing chapter 10 recently. Even better news: I'm kind of drunk right now. Fortunately, I did correct grammar mistakes a while back so this section (and the end notes) should be the only things that are incoherent.**
> 
> **With that said, I'm usually pretty good with grammar even when drunk. let's see if that holds up.**
> 
> **So, like I mentioned before, I did write a bit of chapter 10 recently because I was like why the hell not. I didn't write that much though so don't get your hopes up even if these chapters aren't long at all.**
> 
> **I also don't really remember where I wanted to go with this (the story). I already named all of the chapters and I figured that would be enough to remind me of what I had intended but, I guess it wasn't. I was giving myself too much credit.**
> 
> **So what'll really determine if I finish this or not is chapter 10. If chapter 10 ever comes out, you'll know I committed to wrapping this up, albeit not in the way I originally intended because I don't remember and deleted my notes.**
> 
> **With that said, ENJOY!**

Sans struggled to leave his room. He found it easier to lock himself away rather than confront his new reality. The Underground had gone to Hell, he had broken his core convictions by taking a life, and Papyrus was now a stranger to him. He could have dealt with the repercussions of killing someone and his world becoming a bloody mess had Papyrus still been his same old self to keep him grounded. Instead, Papyrus had become warped and wrong. The past few weeks had been horrible. Every smile and idle conversation had been stiff and awkward; like they had never known each other – like Papyrus was dead and in his stead was a stranger puppeteering his bones and poorly mimicking his voice. With the veil now removed, Sans reckoned the other had symbolically died the moment he had been accepted into the Royal Guard. The thought made him feel worse. To think everything had only gotten this bad because Asgore had killed someone. Anger began to swell in his chest and the smaller skeleton had half a mind to march right up to his palace to…

Sans took a deep breath and rolled onto his side. He didn't want to be like everyone else; he didn't want to be consumed by hate and violence. He had killed once and that was enough. The skeleton shut his eyes and did his best to relax. But relaxing was now impossible. Life was noise and anxiety and would continue to be for the foreseeable future. If his mind wasn't wandering with distress to the idea of this new person his brother had become, then Sans was thinking about the life he had ended. It was terrible. Sans just wanted to sleep it all away. Maybe if he slept for long enough, things would return to the way they were, but he knew he would never be so lucky.

 _This life…_  Sans thought exasperatedly as he began drifting into blissful sleep.

However, he was pulled back to consciousness by a gentle knock at his door. He sucked in a sharp breath and turned slightly to glance over his shoulder. When his door creaked open, he looked away before he could catch a glimpse of his brother. He didn't know how to handle him anymore and so preferred to avoid him.

"Sans…?" Papyrus asked, his voice estranged and raspy. Would it ever go back to normal? "Are you sleeping?"

The smaller skeleton deliberated whether to answer. "No…" He replied hesitantly.

"Then could you—" Papyrus started demandingly, but stopped. He sighed deeply and, for a moment, there was silence. "I'm sorry, Sans." He said solemnly. "But…at least you only gained 1 exp, right?" The consolation was offered with a lighthearted tone, twisting the knife further and deeper into Sans's wound. "Unlike me…" He added quietly.

The latter statement filled Sans with dread. He hadn't checked Papyrus, even when his throat was slashed and he was dying. He was afraid to see what he would find if he attempted to do so now. How many lvls had he gained from the massacre? From the other lives he had probably taken afterwards with less remorse? How  _tainted_  was he? How much  _blood_  did he have on his hands? The silence persisted. Sans didn't want to know and had no clue what his brother wanted him to say.

"It's not my fault!" Papyrus snapped abruptly. "I know you blame me for it – for what happened! I didn't  _want_  to kill them! I was afraid! I had no choice!"

Sans smiled bitterly. He almost wanted to tell the puppeteer that his brother would never deflect the blame for anything and was playing him out of character. But there was no puppeteer and so the knife continued to twist.  _God_ , how he just wanted to go to sleep and forget for a little while.

"They probably targeted me because I looked weak!" Papyrus continued louder. "—because I…!" And he stopped again, but this time it was like he had been struck by a realisation. It almost made Sans want to glance back. "I…" Papyrus eventually added more calmly, "The world is changing, Sans. Didn't you tell me that once? We… _I_  have to change with it if I want to survive. There's no other way."

Papyrus then left, shutting the door behind him gently. Sans listened to his steps until his brother disappeared into his room. He sighed deeply; he could finally sleep. But as soon as he shut his eyes and tried to drift to the land of dreams, he was overcome by grief and guilt. He curled in on himself, tucking his knees to his stomach as tears welled in his eyes. Sans couldn't witness the downfall of the Underground through dejected and cynical eyes anymore. He couldn't deny the tragedy of what was taking place: the end of all good things and the start of chaos and fear. Was redemption truly out of reach? Was there no hope?

Before his mind could catch up to his body, Sans had sprung out of his bed and was running to Papyrus's room. He couldn't accept that everything he had known was gone – that his Papyrus couldn't come back, that  _he_  couldn't redeem himself. He could fight for his convictions, for kindness and mercy, and over time Sans was certain he could forgive himself for what he had done. Hope was only lost if he allowed it to be; there would always be redemption for the willing. Redemption first started by reaching out to Papyrus and beckoning him to be better. They could do it if they tried.

Sans pushed the door open, shouting: "Pap—" but not quite managing to finish his brother's name. His body stiffened from confusion and horror as he beheld the taller skeleton who was bloodied at the mouth with a sharpened bone drenched in gore. Pearls of sweat and pain had beaded onto his skull and Papyrus seemed tired…but happy?

"…wh…what?" Sans stammered.

Papyrus smiled a crooked and bloody smile; teeth sharpened and pointy but jagged and unsettling. "Look." He indicated proudly. "I look scary now, don't I? Everyone will think twice before attacking me."

"W-why would you…?" But he couldn't finish his question.

He felt sick.

"The world's changing." The taller skeleton stated. "I have to change with it."

"What about redemption?" Sans asked at an utter loss.

Papyrus smiled sadly at his naivety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Did I ever talk about the sequel to Shattered Universe? I don't think I did but I am drunk so lord really knows if I repeat myself then I repeat myself.**
> 
> **For those who don't know, Shattered Universe was a series that I dropped. I finished part 1 but never wrote part 2. Part 1, Sans ended up in Underfell and met with AltPap (whatever his name is, I don't remember), they fell in love, Sans found out what happened to AltSans, then he found a way to go home and dragged AltPap with him. However, upon returning, he was informed his own Pap had disappeared leaving him to wonder if his brother had died or also been transported to another universe.**
> 
> **Part 2 was going to be Sans on a quest to find his bro. He was going to fix the machine with Alphys's help so he could control to which universe he went. However, Sans could possibly be spending the rest of his eternity looking for his brother so he and Alphys come up with a way to narrow the amount of possible universes by using maths.**
> 
> **There's still a lot of universes to cover, but there IS an end. It's not an infinite amount which is a good start. Once a compact dimension machine is constructed, Sans and AltPap (Underfell Pap, for those who forgot) travel to find Papyrus. Seeing as I don't like Underswap and I really hate FellSwap or Swapfell (both are lazy and garbage), I was either going to give credit to some lesser known universes or just make some up. There was never going to be that many anyhow.**
> 
> **They spend about three to five chapters wandering universes and fixing their problems (if you read Shattered Universe, you know they don't go to Sans's home on great terms) before they wind up in Space AU. I don't remember the name; it's the popular one. Space Sans comes up with using Sans's genetic makeup to locate his brother. Bc even tho there are an infinite number of Sans, there's only ONE like him and he only has ONE Papyrus exactly like the one he's looking for. The other ones, even the most similar, will always have one thing off which will inevitably affect their genetic makeup.**
> 
> **If this doesn't make sense, I remind you that I'm still drunk and did not bother to figure out the intricacies because I'm never going to write this.**
> 
> **Anyways, Space Sans alters the machine meanwhile Sans and AltPap have a few chapters to really sort their shit out. They have a heart to heart and by the time Space Sans is done fixing the portable teleporter, things are on the up and up. Sans thinks they might have a real chance at starting their relationship over now that everything is out in the open and whatever.**
> 
> **They leave to find Papyrus and get teleported into the flower universe. I really don't remember what it's called. it's the one where Frisk is infected with flowey or something, but it's also Underfell? Look it up, it's wonderful.**
> 
> **So, in accordance with that universe, only Frisk (infected with golden flowers) is there with Papyrus. They found him! Frisk is happy and expresses that they will miss him or something. Papyrus is like "same also tell the other Sans I'll miss him too!"**
> 
> **Wait? What? Other Sans? That's not weird is it? Well, Sans and AltPap don't think so at first UNTIL the other Sans comes back and asks "...boss?" OMG GUUUYS! The other Sans isn't a native of that universe, it's Unferfell Sans who AltPap thought was dead (reasons in Shattered Universe) and he FLIPS! There are many tears and so much confusion and endless apologies.**
> 
> **Sans, however, is feeling conflicted. He wants to be happy for AltPap, but he can't help but think of the implications. If his brother IS alive, he does have a reason to return home. Furthermore, AltPap doesn't have to replace his brother with him even though he said he wouldn't do that. So Sans is feeling uncertain about their future together and he waits a bit before asking AltPap. As expected, AltPap says he can't abandon his brother, that he'll always love Sans and always think of him, but he can't choose him above his flesh and blood. Sans gets it and doesn't make a fuss even though he's really heart broken.**
> 
> **Then, they return to their respective universes and that's pretty much it.**
> 
> **There was supposed to be a plot thread with Gaster, but I don't really remember it. I think Gaster had a crush on Sans or something and was mad about him and AltPap being together. There was this tiny chance in between universe hop for Gaster to grab Sans, but he never managed to get him except for right after they get Papyrus (who wasn't supposed to be in flower Frisk universe). They end up defeating Gaster somehow and, as he's dying, Gaster sends them to the flower Frisk Universe, in a last ditch attempt to ruin their relationship which works bc AltSans is alive.**
> 
> **ANWAYS, see you next chapter???**

**Author's Note:**

> **Updates will be sporadic and then sudden.**
> 
> **Does anyone still care about Undertale lol?**


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